Not to be outdone by Apple,who announced an event yesterday, Google has today sent invitations to the media for an event relating to its mobile operating system Android.

The event will be held next Monday, October 29 (US time), in New York. Somewhat controversially, that is the same date that Microsoft will launch Windows Phone 8 across the country in San Francisco, having sent invitations two weeks ago.

Google's invitation does not explicitly state what will be revealed, but uses the tagline "The playground is open". This hints that the event may have something to do with Google Play - formerly the Android Market - which is the tech giant's one-stop shop for apps, movies, books and magazines.

Analysts have also speculated that the event could see the unveiling of the next version of Google's Nexus smartphone.